Our Journey to D-Town

This past weekend we had planned to go visit my parents and also visit my grandparents who live in the area.  Jacob was sick so the boys and I headed that way Friday afternoon after Alex's OT session and spent the night with my parents.  I shared my idea of taking the boys and leaving early to Jacob and he said it made sense to him--he'd be able to rest without having us in the house and we'd be able to spend more time with my parents.  I called my mother and asked what she and my dad had planned that night. She said they were going to go eat.  I asked her what time they were planning to do this and she laughed and said, "Why are you quizzing me?  Are you wanting to come over this evening?"  I laughed and said, "Yes, that is why I'm calling."  My mom said, "We'd love that!"

So, after Alex's OT session we hopped in the car and started our 2-hour drive.  We got caught in stop-and-go traffic on the interstate and ran into a lot of construction.  We stopped in a town on the way and bought dinner, ate, and had potty breaks before getting back into the car and finishing the journey.  We made it to my parents around 7PM just as it was getting dark. My mom had gone to the store after I called to get milk, yogurt, juice, cinnamon rolls, and snacks for the boys since we would be there for almost 24 hours.

My dad watched Aladdin with the boys while my mom and I went into her room and talked.  It was fun--she showed me all of the gifts she had bought for the boys for Christmas.

The next morning we got up and took our time having breakfast and drinking coffee.  We got around and headed to my grandparents' around 9:30.  We stayed there for an hour or so and I got to see my grandmother's new car and spend a little bit of time talking to and joking around with my Grandpa Jack. When we first got there Logan ran in and loudly said, "Great Grandpa Jack!" and hugged him.  My grandpa smiled so big . . . it was a sweet moment.  They hugged my grandma and she asked them about school.  The boys sang a couple of songs for her that they have learned at school and told her some of the things they have learned.  My grandma acted like she was so impressed with all they knew which just made their day.  It was a lot of fun.

From there we went to lunch.  My mom asked where I wanted to go and I looked at my dad and said, "I'd kind of like Mexican food."  My mom said, "Do you want to go to Ed's?  It's your dad's favorite so that is what he would pick but I want YOU to pick."  I looked at my dad who smiled at me because my mom just basically told him she didn't care where he wanted to eat.  It was all about me and the boys.  We were discussing who has the better queso and based on my parents' opinions of cheese dip we decided to go to El Palacio for lunch.  We walked in and the hostess said, "Five?"  I said, "Yes," and before she could seat us Alex said, "No, wait!"  He counted each of us, looked up at the woman, and said, "Yes, it IS five!"  She started laughing and said, "He wanted to double check, didn't he?"  We followed a younger woman to the other room--I was talking to Logan and I heard my mom say, "Shawna. Shawna!"  I looked up at her and said, "what?"  She pointed to a table in the corner and I saw two familiar faces smiling at me.  It was my best friend and her mom.  We chatted for a bit and she got hugs from the boys and then we all went back to the business of eating. I would be lying if I said it wasn't a pleasant surprise, though!  :0p

After lunch my dad took the boys back to their house so they could play and my mom and I went to the craft show/fair where I enjoyed free coffee, my mom gave me some earrings and let me pick out a scarf/hat set as part of my Christmas gift from her.  My Aunt Vickie had a booth there and we sat for about an hour talking with her and drinking coffee--safe in the corner behind her booth where the crowds of crazy woman couldn't run over me.  LOL  After a while a voice came over the speakers announcing that the drawing for the door prize would be in 5 minutes.  My mom handed me her ticket and said, "Now you have two chances of winning."  Her ticket number was called and I won a $10 gift certificate for one of the booths there.  It was a fun time!

We left the craft show and headed to see my dad's mother who is now in a nursing home. This is probably my least favorite part of my trip.  On the way there my mother was telling me to avoid eye contact with people in the lobby and going over everything she thought I should know.  None of her instructions were very encouraging!  We walked in and a horrible smell hit us--the place wasn't nice at all--it was all rather depressing.  We walked down the hallway and eventually into a small, tacky room that was shared by my grandmother and another woman.  We walked past the first woman to the back of the room where my grandmother was. When she saw me her face lit up and she held her arms out so wide.  I hurried over and hugged her and told her it was good to see her and for a few seconds I really thought she was never going to let me go. I told her I had brought some artwork the boys did for her and she said, "Oh, great!  Thank you!" We found a place to hang them so she could see them and I gave her new pictures of the boys, which she also wanted hung on the wall with the many other pictures of her family she had.  A few minutes after we got there I heard a voice say "hi" to my mom and turned around to see one of my cousins.  We all talked for a while and then it was time to go.  My grandma hugged me again and told me she loved me and as we all turned to leave she cried.  I remember as I walked out of her room and down the hall I thought about how hard it must be to stay in a place like that and have people come and go but you're just stuck there.

I went back to my parents' and packed up all of our suitcases and headed to the next town where I was meeting my best friend for a bit before heading back home to Jacob. By the time we met her the boys and I were all tired--but it was good to see her.  She brought the boys glow sticks and the boys sat in the backseat playing video games while she and I chatted for a bit.  We eventually said goodbye and the boys and I hit the road for the nearly 2-hour drive home.

We got home and it was really nice to see Jacob.  The boys were happy to see him and glad to be home.  We ate dinner and then we pulled out the glow sticks my best friend had given the boys.  They spent the next hour or two in the playroom, in the dark, with the door shut playing with them.  They had a blast with them!

It was a fun trip and it was so nice to see so many people we haven't seen in so long.

Here are some pictures of the boys playing with their glow sticks!

Logan stuck a bunch of glow sticks together and then put them in his jacket and said, "Look!  I'm a spider!"